Dual Afghan Attacks Sabotaged Prospects of Peace Process
It took the Afghan special forces more than 4 hours to tackle three gunmen who stormed into the maternity ward of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kabul and opened fire at mothers and their newborns. The casualties included a number of other people, including the hospital staff, nurses, and a guard. In another attack on the same day, a suicide bomber entered a funeral and killed 24 people, injuring 68 others.
In both the attacks, the blast and the shooting the vulnerable civilians got hit the hardest with women and children becoming prime targets.
The attacks have not only sent a shock-wave across Afghanistan, but also led to hurdles in the prospects of a peace process from seeing the light of the day. The peace process deal was signed between the US and Taliban in February. The signatories — Afghan government representatives, Taliban members, and key US figures — binds the parties together in an agreement to achieve peace in the region. However, the said has not been achieved in the past and doesn’t seem quite possible in the future, considering the current circumstances.
No immediate claims came forward, taking responsibility of the attack in both, Kabul and eastern Nangarhar. However, IS is being seen as the most potential attacker in the scene as it has largely attacked the said areas in the past along with Taliban members. The groups have frequently targeted security forces and civilians. However, Taliban denied any involvement in the attack.
However, hours after the attack took place, the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called for the non-operation of Afghan security forces in the defensive posture taken under the peace agreement. On the contrary, the forces were asked to launch attacks against the Taliban insurgents.
Looking at the circumstances, the only certainty in Afghanistan today seems to be the contrary of a peace agreement.
